YT Architecture and its team are optimists . Despite operating in a South African construction industry , which has borne the brunt of recent structural economic stagnation , the firm continues to deliver standout design and see its innovations come to fruition .

“ With the new government in , things are definitely looking better ,” Steenekamp says . “ At the end of the day , the industry is driven almost as much by sentiment than it is by technical factors and sentiment is definitely on the up . We ’ re looking forward to seeing greater growth .”

LYT Architecture went through a rebranding exercise in 2012 , adopting its current name having previously operated as TPS . P . “ We ’ ve gone from strength to strength ,” adds Steenekamp , who involves himself heavily in the day-to-day architecture work as the firm ’ s principal designer . “ I think we ’ ve had wide market acceptance here in South Africa and created a strategy to start expanding globally , but those things take time .”

Indeed , though the majority of LYT ’ s work is carried out in its native country , the company does have businesses in Nigeria , Dubai and the UK . However , for Steenekamp and LYT , becoming a global influencer of design ideas and best practice better defines growth than physical geographic presence .

“ People are starting to understand why the intellectual property in the design of a building pays ,” he says , “ and we want our clients to see how this enhances their asset – it ’ s not something you can see and touch , like brick or concrete .”

83

Old Mutual , picture : Tristan McLaren www . constructionglobal . com